Dublin Port

Dublin Port sought to join One51 ICG bid
29 April 2007 By Richard Curran - Sunday Business Post
Dublin Port sounded out the Department of Transport on the possibility ofjoining the One51/Doyle consortium bidding to buy Irish Continental Group(ICG), The Sunday Business Post has learned.Department officials and transport minister Martin Cullen were not keen onthe idea and declined to give the state port company the go-ahead for themove. Dublin Port is a 50 per cent shareholder in Greenore Port in Co Louth,while Philip Lynch's One51 owns the remaining stake. Disussions took placebetween One51 and Dublin Port with a view to the state company joining theconsortium, a source close to One51 confirmed.However, he said given the length of time it would have taken the portcompany to raise funds and take action on the bid, no deal materialised.However, a government source said Dublin Port's suggestion of gettinginvolved ''did not get enthusiastic response from officials''.One51 and the Doyle Group complained last week about delays in the duediligence process. They have written to the independent directors of ICGgiving specific details of how they say they have been ''severely hamperedby delays."The letter was sent on Friday and includes what it says are delays insupplying due diligence information, from management accounts, to auditfiles and details of lease agreements.The letter claims requests for divisional breakdowns of management accountshave not yielded adequate results and that as of Friday morning its advisersare ''awaiting a revised draft of a hold harmless letter relating to the UKtax files and a hold harmless letter relating to the Dutch tax files has notyet been furnished''.It also states that ''the implications on the timing of these delays weresuch that we could not meet the firm intention announcement deadline of 10May 2007 which you have imposed."The letter also warns that ''it is imperative that the independent directorsdo all within their powers to ensure the consortium be given access to thelevel of information that is necessary to create as level a playing field asis possible against an offer from the company's management team."